After winning gold in the women's 200m at the Paris Olympics, Gabrielle Thomas aims to inspire the next generation of track athletes with her victory and message of perseverance and self-belief.
PARIS, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gabrielle Thomas said she hoped to inspire a new generation of track athletes after winning gold in the women's 200m at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday.
Thomas secured the title in 21.83 seconds, beating newly crowned Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred by a quarter of a second at Stade de France.
"I want to inspire the youth to find their passions and be successful," Thomas said. "I want young girls to look at us as strong female athletes and feel like they can do it too. I want them to feel encouraged to go into professional sport."
"I hope they are inspired to work hard, be kind to people and give back to their communities when they can. If I've left that message to the world, then I've done my job," she added.
Thomas, the silver medalist in Tokyo three years ago, confessed that competing in front of almost 70,000 fans in Paris had provided an adrenaline rush that was missing at the previous Games.
"Tokyo was a lot of fun, but there is nothing like walking into a stadium of 80,000 people, and they are screaming right on top of you," she said. "That is a lot of pressure to put on someone. A lot of pressure for us to deal with."
"It was definitely very different but also made it a lot more special when I crossed the line as a champion. I knew my community was behind me. So many emotions all at once, I could not have anticipated my reaction. Just happiness, joy, pride, disbelief, shock all at once. It was the happiest moment of my life."
Thomas has juggled athletics with an academic career, having completed a neurobiology degree at Harvard.
She said her studies had provided balance in her life while showing that anything is possible with commitment and self belief.
"I could never have imagined that I would be an Olympic medallist, or even gold, when I went off to Harvard to run track," she said. "I would tell myself to keep believing in myself and keep doing what you love, as I would tell any young girl going through that part of their lives."
"I believe what got me to this point was my growing love for the sport, my personal growth. Harvard was a great foundation for me. It laid the groundwork for me to be here now. It was an organic journey for me. I would encourage anyone to go where you're comfortable, go where you're happy, and you will be successful." ■
